Passion
by fanwriter1245
Summary: While traveling in America with Viktor, Yuri meets a dancer whose story seems rather familiar. After a mishap during her routine, he helps her remember why she started dancing in the first place, and unexpectedly, she ends up teaching him a little something in return.
1. Chapter 1

**I am not a dancer or a figure skater whatsoever so I did a lot of research while writing this story, but if anything is blatantly incorrect (aside from the stuff that's obviously inserted for the sake of the plot), please let me know and I will fix it!**

* * *

Yuri watched the dancers on stage in awe. While a few of them clearly needed a lot more practice, most of them left him speechless. He considered himself a pretty good dancer since he'd been taking lessons ever since he could remember, but his ability paled in comparison to those on stage.

He and Viktor had traveled to America because an old friend of Viktor's, Katerina, was competing and she had invited Viktor to come watch.

Viktor told Yuri to come with him because watching all the dancers might help him with his figure skating if he could get inspiration for his own routines.

Yuri's expectations had been pretty low, but he was blown away by the sheer amount of talent everyone possessed.

An older girl wearing a black ballet dress came onstage. Yuri checked the program and saw that this was Ryleigh Weaver dancing to a song called "First Love" composed by Joe Hisaishi. He thought he recognized that name, but he wasn't sure. It was definitely Japanese, so he already felt a sense of connection to her performance.

The song began and Yuri watched the girl start her routine. Something about it felt off though.

Her movement was choppy and abrupt which didn't fit the smooth flow of the music, and her eyes seemed lifeless, completely separated from her body. It felt like he was watching "Dance of Death" more than "First Love".

Halfway through the song, she went to do a standing split, but her center of balance was off and she went tumbling down onto the hard stage.

Yuri winced, painfully reminded of all his screw-ups on the ice during his own competitions.

The girl put her hand to her forehead, and he could tell that she was trying to hold back tears. With the song still playing in the background, she rushed off the stage.

Yuri leaned forward a little, part of him wanting to run after her.

Viktor raised a curious brow at Yuri's reaction to the girl's failure. He was pretty sure it struck a certain chord with him.

Once the competition was over, Viktor and Yuri headed to the lobby to meet Katerina once she came out with the other dancers.

"Viktor!" someone squealed.

"Katy!" Viktor called back as he opened his arms.

Katerina happily rushed into them. "I'm so glad you could make it!"

"You did an amazing job, Katy! I was very impressed!"

"Thank you!" While still in Viktor's arms, she looked over at Yuri. "You're Viktor's student, Yuri, right?"

"Yeah, that's me," Yuri answered as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. He noticed that her Russian accent wasn't as thick as Viktor's.

"He's done a good job with you. I've watched your routines."

"Oh, thanks. You did a really good job out there yourself."

"Thank you."

"Katy, who was that one dancer in the black dress?" Viktor asked. "Is she all right?"

Katerina lost her smile. "Oh, you mean Ryleigh? Well, she…she just got rejected from another dance school yesterday, so she really wanted to win this competition to prove to herself she's a good dancer."

"I see it didn't go so well."

Katerina shook her head. "I feel so bad for her."

Yuri looked towards the door and noticed the very girl in question. "Isn't that her?"

Katerina followed his gaze. "Yep."

"I'll be right back."

As Yuri left, Katerina asked Viktor, "Is he a friend of hers or something?"

"No," Viktor replied. "I think he just relates to her is all."

While Viktor and Katerina began to converse in fluent Russian behind him, Yuri slowly went up to the girl from before and lightly tapped on her shoulder.

When she turned around, he noticed her eyes were really red and swollen. She must've been crying for a long time. He suddenly remembered locking himself in a bathroom stall and crying his own eyes out after one of his routines. There was really nothing like the awful feeling of utter defeat.

"Uh, hey," Yuri stuttered, quickly bringing himself back to the present. "I saw your performance tonight. I think you're pretty good."

The girl looked at him as if he had just called her fat and ugly. "I messed up and didn't even finish the routine," she snapped. "Were you watching what everyone else was?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

"Get lost."

The girl whipped around and left the building, leaving Yuri standing alone in stunned silence. He now remembered why he rarely talked to other people.

On the other hand, he knew from experience that no one's positive comments, however well-meaning, could really help when faced with that level of humiliation.

Katerina came up behind him. "Don't take it personally, Yuri. Ryleigh's not much of a people person to begin with, so a loss like tonight won't help."

He couldn't believe he was about to ask this. "Do you know where she lives?"

* * *

The oven beeped loudly, signaling the freezer-bought lasagna was ready to come out. Ryleigh put on her oven mitts and pulled the dish out of the hot oven.

Just as she was about to cut it up, the doorbell rang. She sighed and prepared to throttle whoever was interrupting her precious dinnertime.

She went over to the door and opened it. There stood the same guy who had stopped her after the competition.

"Hey, remember me?" the boy said. "My name's Yuri, and I—"

Ryleigh slammed the door in his face. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to anyone right now. Currently, she just wanted to wallow in self-pity for the next several hours.

Besides, it was super creepy that he had followed her home.

The doorbell rang again…persistently.

Ryleigh groaned and opened it again. "What?" she snapped.

Yuri nervously took a step back. "Uh, I know you're probably really embarrassed about what happened tonight, but I just wanted to say that…I get it. I had the same problem when I was figure skating. I just…wanted to talk to you…"

Ryleigh looked the guy over. He was clearly of Asian descent, and if she recalled correctly, Katerina had mentioned a friend of hers was coming to the competition and bringing along someone from Japan. He looked like he couldn't harm a fly even in the direst of circumstances. He also looked like he feared that at any second, she was going to kill him.

Which she kind of still wanted to do.

She supposed if he tried anything, it would probably be pretty easy to take him down.

She sighed and went back to the kitchen area. "You going to come in, or are you just going to stand there with the door open and waste all of my air conditioning?"

Yuri gave a relieved sigh and stepped inside the small apartment.

He watched with curiosity as she served herself a huge helping of lasagna. "I thought dancers didn't eat food like that."

"Well, I haven't eaten this much cheese at one time in four years, and after that horrendous performance, I deserve this." She leaned against the counter as she began to eat while standing up. "You're from Japan, right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"You speak English really well."

"I spent five years in Detroit training for competitions."

"That's good because my Japanese is limited to 'Hello', 'Good-bye', and 'Thank you', and honestly, I butcher even that."

Yuri laughed lightly, his nerves finally beginning to settle as she seemed less inclined to maul him. "Your name is really original. I've never seen it spelled like that."

"Yeah, in all my 22 years of living, I've yet to see it on a keychain. My parents wanted to give me something that would stand out, so I would be remembered in whatever I did. Fat lot of good that did me. Now I'll be remembered as the girl who had an emotional breakdown in the middle of a dance routine."

Yuri awkwardly looked at his feet. For a while, he was remembered as the Japanese skater who completely floundered his skating routine at the Grand Prix.

"How'd you find out where I live anyway? You some kind of stalker?"

"No, Katerina told me."

"That blabbermouth."

"She was worried about you."

"It's not her fault I suck."

"But you really don't."

Ryleigh looked at him pointedly. "I've auditioned for several dance schools, and all of them rejected me. I couldn't even finish my routine at the stupid competition tonight. Face it, I'm not good enough, and I never will be."

Yuri sighed. "I'm a figure skater. And two years ago, I made it to the Grand Prix but I really messed up my routine because I was so nervous and I came in dead last. That caused me to mess up my next routine and I was booted out really early."

"Is there a point to all this?"

"I kinda fell off the face of the earth for a while. Then Viktor Nikiforov, a really famous figure skater I admired, came to Japan to personally coach me for the next Grand Prix. It was really tough, but I worked hard and I ended up winning silver that year."

"Great story. So basically, this Viktor guy who just happened to be your idol showed up and made you good? Congratulations."

"No. I always had it in me. I just needed his help to realize that."

"I hate to burst your pep talk bubble, but not everyone's like that. Even if Gene Kelly was here to suddenly start coaching me, which would be pretty difficult considering he's dead, clearly, I'm not cut out to be a dancer. Maybe I never was." She dejectedly put the now empty plate in the sink.

"I think you just lost your reason for dancing."

Ryleigh froze for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"Why do you dance?"

"I dance because I…I love it."

"Not because you want to be admitted into dance schools or win competitions?"

Ryleigh started to answer but then stopped herself when she realized he had a valid point. When was the last time she danced and actually really enjoyed it? Lately, it felt like all she'd been doing was either auditioning or performing with the hopes of being the best. It was exhausting, and it took all of the fun out of the activity she loved.

"I think you got so focused on winning that you forgot why you started dancing in the first place."

"How…how would you know?"

"For a long time, I forgot why I enjoyed skating. When I lost the Grand Prix and everyone commented on how terrible my routine was, I wanted to quit. Then when Viktor started coaching me, he helped me remember why I loved it so much and why I wanted to keep competing."

Ryleigh hated this guy for being right, and she hated herself for letting it get to the point where someone she didn't even know had to spell out her one major flaw.

"Katerina told me and Viktor that you choreograph your own routines. That's really impressive. From what I saw tonight, you've got real talent for that."

"Yeah, I just can't execute it."

"Maybe if you remember your reason for dancing, you will."

"Figure skating isn't dancing, you know."

"Maybe not, but I do some dancing as well. I started out dancing when I was young. My teacher was the one who suggested I start skating. Even then, I continued taking dance lessons because it helps out with my skating."

"So just because you dance and skate, you know everything?"

"No."

Yuri was getting a little frustrated with Ryleigh's constant jabs to everything he was saying. But he really couldn't complain. Everyone dealt with defeat in different ways. He shut down and refused to talk to anyone while Ryleigh just shot down anyone who did speak to her.

"But I saw your performance," he continued. "While you had plenty of skill, you weren't part of it. You had distanced yourself so that you were just repeating the moves back, not actually getting into them."

Ryleigh wondered if anyone else had seen what this boy had. How she could barely hear the music and how her feet moved automatically as if she was a robot.

Yuri placed a CD down on the counter. "Here. This helped me when I was in a bit of a slump. Maybe it will help you too."

Ryleigh looked at the disc. Written in Sharpie were the words, 'Yuri On Ice'.

"I gotta get going. Viktor, Katerina, and I are going out for dinner. But it was nice to meet you. I hope things work out for you."

She watched as he left her apartment without another word.

Ryleigh sighed and picked up the CD, curious as to how the song on it made someone with no hope left in his chosen profession suddenly gain all his inspiration back.

She would listen to it tomorrow since she was in no mood to focus on dancing or skating or anything artistic for the rest of the night.

* * *

Ryleigh woke up much too early for her taste. She had always been a morning person, but she had desperately wanted to stay sleeping for as long as possible so as to forget the horror that was her performance the night before.

The CD Yuri had given her rested on the nightstand. She picked it up and looked at it, even more curious to know what song it held now that she was better rested.

With a sigh, she got out of bed and dressed in her workout leggings and an off-the-shoulder t-shirt.

She put the song from the CD onto her phone so she could listen to it while she put away the dishes in the dishwasher.

As she began the chore, she listened to the pretty melody. It started off with a repeating piano sequence which gradually gained more notes and a faster tempo.

Her feet began to move of their own accord as she moved around the kitchen area to return the dishes to their respective places.

More instruments then joined the piano. Ryleigh abandoned the clean dishes in favor of focusing on the song instead.

Her body led her around her small apartment with various steps and jumps in time with the beautiful music. She felt herself get lost in the gorgeous melody, as if it had claimed her very soul.

It wasn't until the song stopped did she realize what had just happened.

For the first time in years, she had actually enjoyed dancing. She had felt the music, each precious note, and she danced with actual feeling. She had become one with the music and the steps.

Maybe that skater kid knew what he was talking about after all.

Ryleigh finished the dishes and then immediately headed down to her dance studio. She rented out one of the smaller rooms so she could practice to her heart's content without any interruptions.

She connected her phone to the stereo in the room and played 'Yuri On Ice' again.

When Ryleigh choreographed a new piece, she danced to it freely the first time around to see what her feet did naturally, and she made quick mental notes of what she liked. After that, she worked on the technical parts of it to ensure that each move fit the notes and the tempo and was actually possible for her to do.

It had been a while since Ryleigh had had so much fun working on a piece. It struck her that Yuri had been absolutely right.

She had started dancing because she adored it. Every little piece of it. All the money she had to spend on classes and new shoes, all the times she had to cancel hanging out with friends in favor of practicing, even the intense pain she experienced on a daily basis. All the aches, sores, and blisters, not to mention the pain that came with dancing en pointe, were all worth it in the end once she got up onstage and started performing.

But somewhere down the line, she had become much too preoccupied with being the best, whether it be at a competition or an audition, and it had greatly affected her performances. She had lost sight of why she even danced in the first place.

It was no wonder why all those schools had rejected her. She had become detached from all her routines. Her mind was so full of attempting to win that there was no room to connect with the music or the dance itself.

What was all that pain and money for in the end if she didn't get her act together?

While she choreographed this new routine with a song that had reminded her of her purpose for dancing, she pushed out all thoughts of winning or auditioning. Instead, she focused completely on the music and the notes and the moves and doing what she loved.

By the end of the day, Ryleigh had created a loose version of a routine to the song. It would need more practice, but she at least had the basic framework done.

She then went home, feeling the most satisfied she had felt in who knows how long, and pulled out her laptop.

She wanted to know if this Yuri guy was really as wonderful as he made himself out to be.

The first video she found was him skating to 'In Regards to Love: Eros'. She found that when he removed his glasses and slicked back his hair, he was actually incredibly handsome, nothing like the nervous twig who had visited her the previous night. Of course, the sleek black skater outfit he wore really helped.

It was an interesting performance. The theme of it was supposed to be sexual love. It surprised her that he went with that since it didn't seem to fit him very well. His skating was very…feminine. But it worked for him and it fit the overall tone of the song. She had to admit, she was pretty impressed.

The next video she pulled up was him skating to the song she had now heard a hundred times, 'Yuri On Ice'. This one was longer, and he wore a blue suit-like costume with multiple sequins. It looked even better than the black one.

His skating was mesmerizing. It was the best performance she had ever seen, not that she had seen a lot. But just the way he got completely into his performance was incredible enough. Each jump, each move, every little piece of it was flawless.

She scrolled down to read the comments, and every single one of them expressed admiration for his performance and the extreme difficulty of all of the perfectly delivered jumps.

She found another video where he copied a performance of the famous Viktor Nikiforov he had told her about. Someone had put his performance (an unprofessional one since he was only wearing workout clothes) next to Viktor's official performance.

There wasn't an error to be found. Yuri had copied it perfectly.

The only difference was that Yuri looked…upset and lifeless. She looked at the timestamp and realized this was long before the amazing performance she had just watched. This was before Viktor had even started coaching him.

It was night and day between the two performances. They were both incredible, but only one of them really drew her in.

If she had looked anything like the lifeless Yuri while dancing in the more recent months, she felt sorry for anyone who had had to watch her and even more sorry for all the judges and instructors who probably felt she was murdering the art of dance.

She proceeded to watch some of the other skaters Yuri had competed against, such as Yuri Plisetsky who looked like he wanted to rip someone's head off, Christophe Giacometti who put so much sex appeal into his performance that it made her a little uncomfortable, and Jean-Jacques Leroy who seemed too pompous for his own good.

None of their performances affected her quite the same way Yuri's had. They weren't bad, it was just that Yuri's was…different. Maybe it was because their stories were so similar.

A video appeared in the suggestions bar that piqued her curiosity.

When she clicked on it, she almost died laughing.

It was at an afterparty with all the skaters, and Yuri had gotten insanely wasted. He got into a huge dance-off with the other Yuri, and then started dancing with Viktor. To her shock, he even took off his pants and coat and started pole-dancing at one point. Where had a pole come from?

Things got even more interesting when Christophe joined in on the fun. The two men stripped down until they were wearing just a tie and underwear. She was impressed that Yuri, who looked like he could barely stand up straight, had enough strength to do all the intense moves that went with pole-dancing.

What was even funnier was that he wasn't half bad.

After she pulled herself together, she ended up re-watching his performance to 'Yuri On Ice' several more times, more drawn to it than any other performance.

Then she pulled out her phone and called up Katerina.

"Hey, Kat, do you have Viktor Nikiforov's number?" she asked.

"Why?" Katerina replied.

"I need to get in contact with that friend of his."

"You mean Yuri? How come?"

"I just do."

"Oh, do I sense a secret crush?" Katerina teased. "It's about time."

Ryleigh rolled her eyes. "Do you have his number or not?"

Katerina laughed. "Yeah, I do. I'll text it to you. By the way, are you doing okay?"

"You know…I haven't felt this great in years."

"Wow, that was not the response I was expecting."

"I just got a hard but necessary wake-up call. But I went out to the studio today, and let me tell you, it's been a long time since I've danced like that."

"I'm glad to hear it. Did Yuri have anything to do with this?"

"Yeah, thanks a lot for giving him my address," Ryleigh said sarcastically. "What if he was a stalker who wanted to kidnap me?"

"Oh, please, you don't give me enough credit. He's a friend of Viktor's, and if Viktor trusts him, I do. He just wanted to help you. And from the sound of it, he did. No wonder you have a crush on him."

"I do _not_ have a crush on him! I gotta go. Text me his number."

Ryleigh sighed as she hung up the phone. Katerina really was a piece of work.

Not too long after the phone call had ended, her phone buzzed with a new text message containing Viktor's number.

She quickly texted him, asking if he could give her Yuri's number.

He too joked that she must have feelings for him if she wanted to contact him. She sarcastically responded that he and Katerina were thorns in her side.

Finally, Viktor sent her Yuri's number.

Ryleigh sent a new text to him: ' _Hey, Skater Boy, it's Ryleigh. Come see my next competition in a week. Believe me, you're not going to want to miss this_.'


	2. Chapter 2

Yuri and Viktor took a seat in the small auditorium to watch Ryleigh's performance.

Yuri didn't know what exactly she had planned, but it had surprised him to no end when he had received a message from her telling him to come see her perform again.

He wondered if his CD had helped her at all or if she had found her reason for dancing again. She must have or she wouldn't be competing again, much less invite him to come watch.

Why did he have to see it though? Did she just want to show that he had helped? He doubted he had really been _that_ much help. All he did was share how he related to her experiences. It wasn't that big of a deal. It had taken him weeks to have confidence again and that had all been with Viktor's help. Could she really have changed so much with only a few words and one meeting with him?

He watched anxiously as each dancer came onstage, eagerly awaiting Ryleigh's turn.

Finally, she walked out onstage wearing a beautiful white and blue dress with silver pointe shoes. She had tied her hair back into a very fancy bun rather than just the usual plain ballerina bun.

Then her song started.

Yuri couldn't believe his ears. It was his song. She was dancing to 'Yuri On Ice'!

To his astonishment, she began her routine the same way he started his skating routine: bringing both hands up to the face. She went a little higher so her hands went to the top of her head instead of the bottom, but the movement was the same.

Her arms proceeded to go into the same motion from his own routine. Only about 20 seconds in did things start to separate.

Her dancing was a thousand times different than the routine he had watched only a few days ago. Her eyes sprang to life and she connected perfectly with the music. She felt each and every note, step, and jump. All of her movement was fluid and graceful.

She told a story through her steps. He felt as if he was watching his own story, but it wasn't his. It was hers. There just happened to be a lot of overlap between them.

When she got to the portion where the music slowed, she brought her hands close to her chest and lowered her body to the floor. He recognized this moment as the time in her life where things got too difficult and overwhelming for her, culminating in the performance she had given last week.

When the tempo gradually began to pick back up again, she took hesitant steps as she eased her way back into dancing for pleasure. Her eyes lit up even more than they had been at the start and her smile widened. She started to gain more confidence as if she had just been struck with the greatest realization.

And…that was because of him. He had helped her get to this moment where she could perform so beautifully again.

"You should feel very honored, Yuri," Viktor said quietly beside him. "There is no greater moment for a skater than when you and your routines inspire someone else." He looked over at him with a teasing smirk. "I would know."

Yuri looked back up at Ryleigh's performance. The final portion of the song was a flurry of difficult moves from a pirouette to a grand adage to a grand jeté. She ended the routine with so many fouettes that even he, the skater who spun around a million times on the ice, got dizzy just watching her. He wondered how a human being could have that much stamina to perform such a series of complicated jumps and turns this late in the song.

On the last note, she placed one hand on her chest and slowly stretched the other arm towards the audience with one foot pointed out in almost the exact same pose he ended with in his own skating routine.

The crowd burst into thunderous applause, Yuri and Viktor included.

Ryleigh smiled and took a small bow before walking offstage.

Yuri smiled broadly. It was worth coming all the way to America just for this one moment.

After a few more performances, one of the ballet instructors walked out onto the stage with a microphone in hand.

"Thank you all again for coming out tonight to see these wonderful dancers. We're about halfway through the show tonight, and we have a special treat for you. Each year, one of our dancers comes out and selects a lucky member of the audience to share a dance with her to a surprise song. This year, our dancer is Ryleigh Weaver!"

Ryleigh walked onstage wearing a different dress than before. It was a black lace one with a thin black skirt that reached just above her knees. She had switched out of her pointe shoes and into regular black ballet shoes.

"Now which one of you lucky dancers out there want the opportunity to dance with Miss Ryleigh?"

Several audience members quickly raised their hands in excitement. Ryleigh stepped down from the stage and walked up the aisles.

She already knew that she wanted to try to choose someone from the back of the audience. People rarely got chosen from the back and they tended to be the people who actually did have some kind of dancing ability. It usually was pretty easy to pick out who had some kind of dance experience and who didn't. She wanted to choose someone who would work with her and not just stand on the stage barely doing anything. Unfortunately, that had happened before and it was a painful experience for everyone.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, but they abruptly stopped when she met eyes with none other than Yuri.

She couldn't believe it. He had actually come tonight. He had come to see her. She knew that she had invited him, but a part of her didn't think he would actually come especially since he never gave confirmation that he would.

With a smile, she headed straight for him. "Come on, Skater Boy," she smirked. "You're up."

"What?!" Yuri exclaimed.

Ryleigh took his hand. "You're the lucky winner."

"No, no, no, no, I can't do this. Are you nuts?"

Viktor smiled and started pushing Yuri in Ryleigh's direction. "Go on, Yuri, the woman has spoken!"

"Viktor! If you're so into this, why don't you go?"

"Because she chose you!"

With Ryleigh and Viktor's combined efforts, Yuri finally ended up in the aisle. Ryleigh then led him back up to the stage.

"And it appears we have our winner!" the instructor smiled. "What's your name?"

"Uh…Yuri Katsuki," Yuri answered nervously into the microphone.

"Well, congratulations, Yuri. Ryleigh will take you backstage to get you into a costume and some dance shoes. While they're doing that, please enjoy our next performance!"

Ryleigh led Yuri offstage while another dancer took their place to begin her routine.

"There's no way I can do this!" Yuri exclaimed as Ryleigh dragged him to the storage room where they kept all the extra costumes and spare shoes.

"Yes, you can!" Ryleigh told him. "You'll do great. I already know which costume you should wear."

She quickly went through the costumes hanging up until she found the one she wanted and pulled it off the rack.

"Here. It's perfect for you."

Immediately, Yuri knew why she had chosen that one. It resembled his skating costume when he skated to 'Yuri On Ice'. It was black instead of dark blue but it still resembled a suit and it had multiple sequins on it. The black pants were tighter than his skating pants since they were meant for dancing not skating.

"Plus, we'll match. What size dance shoe are you?"

"Uh, a 10 in US sizes."

"Okay, great."

She went over to the large shelf filled with shoe boxes and scanned them until she found his size.

"Here you go. The bathroom for you to change is right around the corner."

"Ryleigh, really, this isn't a good—"

"No time for talking," she said as she pushed him in the direction of the bathroom. "Now go!"

With no other choice, the poor introverted skater went inside the bathroom and changed into the dancing outfit.

What on earth had he gotten himself into?

When he came out of the bathroom, Ryleigh smiled. "Perfect."

She squeezed some hair gel into her hands and then quickly slicked back his hair for him, similar to how he had it during his skating competitions if not a little messier due to their lack of time.

"I'm assuming you don't dance with glasses on, right?" Ryleigh asked.

"Uh, not usually."

"Okay, then we'll just leave these in the storage room."

She yanked his glasses off and placed them on a shelf next to the shoes. Then she quickly took his hand and began dragging him back to the stage.

"Now hurry up! The performance is almost over!"

Once by the stage door, Yuri pulled back and forced Ryleigh to stop. "You don't understand, I cannot do this!" he panicked. "I mean, I don't have nearly as much dance experience as you do!"

"Okay, but—"

"I'm going to make a fool of myself! I won't know the steps or the jumps or anything!"

"That's—"

"What if I can't come up with anything and I just stand there like a complete idiot? Viktor will never let me live it down! And heaven forbid _Minako_ finds out about that!"

"Hey!"

Ryleigh lightly slapped him on the face, and Yuri finally stopped talking.

"Do you always freak out this much before competitions?"

"…Maybe."

"Okay, well just…calm down."

Yuri took a couple deep breaths, but it did nothing for his nerves.

"Let me ask you something. When's the last time you skated just to skate?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you weren't at a competition, you weren't practicing for a competition, you weren't doing any kind of choreography, you weren't working to get that one jump down perfectly. You skated because you could."

Yuri tried to recall a time like that. The closest thing he could think of was when he reenacted Viktor's routine just to see if he could do it, but according to her, that didn't count because he was doing choreography.

"That's what I thought," Ryleigh said. "I may have forgotten my reason for dancing, but you've forgotten what it's like to do something just for the heck of it."

Yuri looked away from her in embarrassment. He liked it more when he had been the one helping her.

"Look, I wouldn't have picked you if I didn't think you could do it. No one is expecting you to do anything crazy or impressive out there, so there's no pressure. They just want to see you have a good time. Don't just listen to the music, feel it. Let your feet do the talking and do whatever stupid thing they tell you to do. I don't know the song they chose, so there's no way I could've choreographed something beforehand. I'm just as blind as you are. They try to choose songs that have a bit of repetition so by the end, we can kind of have something going. I'll start, and I'll help you figure out when to come in, okay?"

Yuri took a deep breath. He still didn't like this, but he may as well try to enjoy it. What other choice did he have?

Ryleigh smirked. "Show me what you got, Skater Boy."

Little Piggy, Pork Cutlet Bowl, and now Skater Boy? Why did everyone have to keep giving him nicknames?

Ryleigh led him backstage where the previous dancer was just finishing her routine.

When she walked off, Ryleigh and Yuri took her place with Yuri standing on her right.

Ryleigh looked at the sound technicians towards the back and nodded her head to indicate that they were ready.

The introduction of the song began and a fast violin melody filled the auditorium. Ryleigh recognized it as _Roundtable Rival_ , a song she had listened to a couple times in the past, and her mind quickly began giving her ideas for steps and jumps she could do.

"Wait, is this Lindsey Stirling?" Yuri asked.

"Yeah," Ryleigh answered in surprise.

"I know this song."

"You're kidding."

"No, someone once skated to it at one of my competitions."

Ryleigh smiled. "Well, that is going to make this a whole lot more interesting."

With the first chorus, Ryleigh did spontaneous dance moves while Yuri watched to try to get a feel for what she was doing. Her movement was a lot different than the graceful performance he had watched before. This one was filled with a sense of sexiness and sensual movements to fit along with the tempo.

He could work with this.

Ryleigh pointed to him as the chorus ended to indicate that it was his turn.

He heeded her advice and did whatever his feet told him to do, silently lifting up a blessing to Minako for the countless hours she had spent teaching him.

Ryleigh smiled with approval at his steps.

They alternated dances a couple times throughout the first verse.

When the chorus played again, Ryleigh took over once more. At one portion that had repeated several times already, she did a quick seven-step move while looking at him to ensure that he was watching and picking up on it.

The chorus ended, and once again it was Yuri's turn to dance.

To him, the longer the song went on, the dance started to feel more and more like a battle between them, and somehow, he could sense that she felt the same way.

When the chorus played again, Ryleigh did the same seven-step move and Yuri attempted to follow along, but it wasn't perfect when he tried it.

During the final verse, the two dancers circled around one another with straight eye contact, further solidifying the idea that the dance had indeed turned into a battle filled with sexual tension. At some point in the song, they had managed to get onto the exact same dancer wavelength which made it much easier to work with and connect not only to the music but also to each other.

In quick succession, they alternated dance moves, each trying to one up the other.

A two-second pause between the final verse and final chorus allowed for them to break the battle.

Ryleigh took both of Yuri's hands and danced together with him until he had ended up on the other side of her and they faced each other.

She once again did the seven-step move, allowing him to watch it closely.

The second time she did it, he did it with her and got it perfectly.

Ryleigh laughed as they both turned to face the audience once more. They did separate dances until getting to the seven-step move that they did simultaneously two more times before ending the song in two different poses. Ryleigh went with a triumphant fist in the air while Yuri did the final pose from his 'Eros' routine.

The crowd burst into applause, everyone thoroughly impressed with Yuri's performance and how well he managed to dance with Ryleigh.

Ryleigh laughed again and hugged him before taking his hand and leading him in a bow towards the audience.

Then the two of them walked offstage to allow the main show to continue.

Once offstage, Ryleigh snatched Yuri's hand and ran all the way to the storage room.

"That was the best guest dance we have ever done!" she squealed. "You were incredible! I mean, the way we managed to work so well off each other was amazing! And your dancing was absolutely fantastic! Like, way better than I was expecting! And then just the way we were so in sync almost the whole time!"

Yuri laughed a little at her excitement. It was rather…charming.

He shyly rubbed the back of his neck. "I gotta admit…that was a lot of fun."

"I…haven't had that much fun dancing in a really long time. You've got some serious talent, Skater Boy."

"It probably helped that we both knew the song somewhat."

"Yes, that was fortunate. I gotta go help some of the other dancers with costume changes, so just get changed and you can head back to your seat. I'll see you after the show, okay?"

"Yeah."

Ryleigh waved and bounded off towards the girls' dressing room.

Yuri smiled a little. It turned out he was pretty good at spontaneity.

Once the rest of the competition ended, Viktor and Yuri anxiously awaited to hear who the winners were.

Ryleigh ended up winning third place.

Yuri thought she deserved to win first, but he guessed the judges saw things he didn't. And unfortunately, when it came to competitions, it didn't matter how much one improved from the previous performance. All that mattered was the here and now. If it actually was the former, Ryleigh would've won by a long shot.

The two of them headed out to the lobby where the dancers would come out to greet everyone.

Ryleigh quickly rushed over to the two men in excitement, still wearing her black dress she had danced in with Yuri. "Hey, guys! I really can't thank you enough for coming to see this."

Viktor handed her a bouquet of flowers. "We got this for you."

Ryleigh smiled as her heart overflowed at the act of generosity. "Thank you so much."

"Congratulations on winning third place!"

"You know…last week, that probably would've crushed me because it wasn't first. But…now, I don't really care about that. I just want to do what I have such a passion for."

"Well, I was quite impressed. And I know Yuri was too."

Ryleigh blushed a little in embarrassment as she looked over at the younger skater. "I hope you're not mad about me using your music without asking you. I just thought it would be kind of fun for you to hear it and realize that it actually helped me."

"Of course I'm not mad," Yuri answered. "I'm incredibly honored that my routine inspired yours. I recognized some of my movements in the dance."

"Yeah, I watched your performances, and I was blown away. They were so amazing, and it only seemed right to pay homage to the original performer. You know, I made up that routine last week, and my instructor almost had a heart attack when I told her I wanted to change routines for this competition so late. But when I showed her what I had come up with, she was all too happy to allow it. In fact, it was that change that made her pick me to be the one to choose the guest dancer."

"That was quite surprising how well you and Yuri worked together," Viktor remarked. "I certainly did not expect that."

"I have to admit, neither did I."

"You both doubted me that much?" Yuri demanded.

"You were a nervous wreck! What was I supposed to think?"

"Okay, fair."

"I'm gonna go get changed, and then the three of us are heading for drinks to celebrate. On me. This is definitely a night worth celebrating."

"I'm all for it!" Viktor exclaimed.

Ryleigh smirked at Yuri. "And don't worry. I'll be sure to watch how much you drink."

Yuri's eyes widened. "Wait, do you mean you saw…?"

Ryleigh giggled before heading back to the dressing room.

Viktor couldn't help but laugh at Yuri's flaming red face, starkly reminded of the very night in question.


	3. Chapter 3

After several minutes, Ryleigh returned to the lobby wearing a pair of leggings and a t-shirt that fell off one shoulder.

Her hair now fell in a series of curls down her back due to the fanciness of the bun it had previously been in.

"May I take your bag for you?" Viktor asked referring to the large gym bag she was carrying.

"Oh, you're such a gentleman," she smiled as she handed her bag to him.

She walked the two males out to the parking lot where her car sat. After placing her bag and the bouquet of flowers in the backseat, Yuri took the passenger seat while Viktor sat in the back.

She drove them down to a bar about fifteen minutes away from the auditorium. "This bar sells some of the best drinks I have ever had. It's a real shame not too many people know about it."

She parked the car and hopped out. After the other two had gotten out, she pressed a button on her key fob and the car chirped to signal it had locked.

They all checked their IDs at the door, then the three of them headed inside and went straight for the bar on the left side of the place.

"Hey, Ryleigh!" the bartender called with a smile. "How've you been?"

"Hey, Nolan!" Ryleigh called back as she hopped up onto one of the barstools. "Great, thanks!"

Yuri sat on the seat next to her. "Exactly how often do you come here?" he asked quietly.

Ryleigh rolled her eyes. "Nolan's an old friend. I used to give his daughter private dance lessons."

Nolan laughed. "She only stuck with it for two years before quitting. She didn't quite have the passion this girl has."

"Yeah, I kinda lost that passion there for a while. Luckily, I managed to get it back with a little help."

"You have a competition tonight?"

"Sure did! Placed third, too!"

"Hey, congrats! Knowing you, you probably deserved first."

"Well, this is the first time I've even placed in a while, so I'll take it."

"So who are your friends here?"

"Oh, this is Yuri and Viktor. They're both figure skaters. Very good ones I might add. Yuri won silver in the Grand Prix last year and Viktor's won five consecutive World Championships."

"Oh, so I'm in the presence of some serious stardom tonight. Nice to meet you both."

"Yes, nice to meet you as well," Yuri replied.

"You have a fine place here," Viktor added.

"Oh, that accent," Nolan remarked. "Russian?"

"Yes, sir."

"Interesting. What can I get you guys?"

"What's good here, Ryleigh?"

"I'll take a Strawberry Daiquiri," Ryleigh said. "And get these two a Pomegranate Margarita and a Raspberry Martini."

"You got it." Nolan started to grab everything to make the requested drinks. "So how'd you guys all meet anyway? Seems like you're all from different places and talents."

"I came to see a friend dance and since I'm Yuri's skating coach, I ordered him to come along so he could observe the dancers," Viktor explained. "Ryleigh performed as well and we ended up talking with her afterwards."

Ryleigh was grateful he left out the more unfortunate details surrounding their meeting.

"Did you guys have another one of those guest dances this year?" Nolan asked.

"Yep!" Ryleigh answered. "And yours truly got to be the dancer!"

"That's awesome! How'd the guest do? Was he anything like that one pervert who came up there a few years ago?"

Ryleigh looked over at Yuri. "No, he wasn't bad at all."

Nolan placed the drinks in front of their respective owners. "Good to hear. Say, you think you'd wanna get up there and do a little something for everyone?"

Ryleigh looked up at the small stage in the front of the room built for the occasional Karaoke or Open Mic night.

She turned back to Nolan and smirked. "That depends. Can you play _Roundtable Rival_?"

Nolan smiled. "I could make that happen."

Ryleigh turned to Yuri. "How about it, Skater Boy?"

Yuri's eyes widened. "You want me to do all of that _again_?"

"You know you had fun. And this is even better because half of the people in here aren't going to remember this night come morning."

"I'm…I'm not dressed right!"

"I have some pants you can borrow!" Viktor chimed in.

"Why do you have extra pants with you?!"

"A true skater is always prepared for everything! I'll go get them!"

"Wait, Viktor!"

Viktor had already disappeared with Ryleigh's keys.

Ryleigh smiled kindly. "It's just for fun, okay?"

Yuri sighed heavily. He wished he had known what being Ryleigh's friend would entail. Then he might've second-guessed himself when he had decided to go to her apartment that first night.

Viktor ran back inside and threw the pants at Yuri. "Okay, now go get changed!"

"Why do you keep making me do these things tonight?!" Yuri demanded.

"Because it is very fun!"

Viktor pushed Yuri inside the bathroom.

Nolan laughed lightly. "Those two are keepers, that's for sure."

Yuri finally came back out of the bathroom changed into Viktor's pants. They were a little long on him so he had had to roll up the bottoms.

"Shoes off," Ryleigh ordered.

Yuri groaned as he kicked off his shoes.

Ryleigh excitedly grabbed his hand. "Come on!"

She once again dragged Yuri up onto the small stage inside the bar.

Viktor took a seat at one of the tables for a better view.

The multiple patrons looked up at the stage with curious eyes, wondering just what two people were doing up there.

Ryleigh nodded towards Nolan.

 _Roundtable Rival_ started to play through the speakers.

And once more, the two of them began to dance.

Obviously, it wasn't the exact same as what they had done just a few hours ago, but they did alternate dances in the same places.

Yuri tried to forget about how he had to forcibly dance once again and attempted to enjoy it. And honestly, he did. It really was a lot of fun to just do whatever his feet commanded him to do. Not to mention that there was something about the way he and Ryleigh worked so well together that made it all the more interesting to dance spontaneously.

A little over halfway through the song, Ryleigh made eye contact with Viktor and motioned with her index finger for him to come up and join them.

Viktor smiled broadly and quickly kicked off his shoes before hopping up onstage on the other side of Ryleigh.

She alternated dancing with him and Yuri for the remainder of the final verse.

When the last chorus began, the three of them all started dancing together. Then in that one repeating part, they all did the same seven-step move right at the same time.

Ryleigh couldn't help but laugh with excitement and pleasure. It was so much fun to dance just to dance and it was even better with two guys she had come to call her friends.

* * *

Ryleigh's phone buzzed with a new text message. She looked at the screen and saw that it was Yuri.

' _What are you doing today?_ '

Ryleigh unlocked her phone and quickly replied back, ' _It's my day off and not because I still have the tiniest hangover, so nothing. Why?_ '

' _Come to this address tonight._ '

' _What for?_ '

' _Just do it._ '

Ryleigh smiled a little. She could only imagine why Yuri wanted to meet with her. She wondered if he was still bitter because of what she had made him do at her competition.

That night, she headed to the address he had sent her and found herself at a skating rink.

This didn't bode well.

Ryleigh walked inside to find the place completely empty. "Hello?" she called.

"Ryleigh, over here," Yuri's voice answered.

Ryleigh headed over to the desk where people rented skates and found Yuri waiting for her. "Isn't this place closed at this hour?"

"I got special permission to be here after hours. Viktor has a way of charming people to get what he wants."

"I can believe that."

"So pick your skates."

"…What?"

"Pick out your size. You can't go out on the ice in street shoes."

"You're…making me go out on the ice?"

"I did your thing, now you do mine."

Ryleigh smirked as she nodded. "Touché."

She picked out her skates and sat on one of the benches to tie them up.

"Fair warning, I've only skated twice before, so this is probably going to go terribly."

"Ice skating isn't that hard," Yuri replied. "It's once you start adding all the jumps is when it gets difficult."

Ryleigh finished lacing up her skates and stood up, careful to keep her balance on the unusual footwear.

"You okay?" Yuri asked as he held his hands out in case she toppled over.

"Balance is my middle name, Skater Boy."

"Well, then let's see how you do on the ice."

After Yuri put on his own skates and removed his glasses, he and Ryleigh went over to the entrance to the rink where the door had been left open for them.

Ryleigh hesitantly placed one foot on the ice and then the other. After a few seconds, she released her grip on the wall and ventured further toward the center.

"This isn't too bad," she smiled.

Yuri smiled back and skated out to her until he was front of her skating backwards so he could face her.

"Good. Before you know it, you'll be able to do this."

He skated out to the center of the ice and performed a perfect triple axel. Ryleigh smiled broadly. His jumps were so…flawless.

"You're such a show-off," she said to him.

Yuri skated back over to her. "Come on, try a little. First, just get comfortable throwing your body in the air."

Ryleigh decided to humor him, seeing this as her penance for making him dance in front of a crowd twice in one night.

She skated forward until she had gained enough speed to jump. Unsurprisingly, she fell flat onto the ice.

"Are you okay?!" Yuri cried.

Ryleigh laughed as she got back up. "Yeah, I'm fine. I kinda saw that coming. Let me try again."

After three more falls, Ryleigh finally managed to jump and stay upright.

"Not bad," Yuri commented. "Now you can add in turns. While you're in the air, propel your body to spin around."

Ryleigh tried it, and she once again face-planted. "This is so hard. How do you manage to do this all so perfectly?"

"Hours upon hours of practice. The same reason you're such an amazing dancer." Yuri demonstrated a single jump for her. "See? Use your arms to help your body move."

It took a total of six tries before Ryleigh could land a jump. It looked extremely ungraceful, but that was to be expected.

The two of them skated along the edge of the rink near the wall.

"You know, I was thinking about what you said," Yuri told her. "About how I never skate just because I can."

"Yeah?"

"Well…I figured that maybe this could be the first time I do that."

He took a small remote out of his pocket and aimed it at the stereo inside the rink.

Ryleigh began laughing when _Roundtable Rival_ started playing.

Yuri skated to the center of the ice and did a double toe-loop. Then he continued to skate around the rink, letting his body control his movements as he did whatever came to his mind.

Though her skill level was not nearly on par with his, Ryleigh decided to skate out and join him.

She incorporated some of her ballet moves into her 'performance' to make up for the fact that she couldn't do any jumps.

Yuri smiled as he watched her enjoy herself doing what he had such a passion for. They may not have shared passions for the same things, but they did find a sense of enjoyment doing what the other loved.

He took her hand and skated with her all over the ice rink. Every now and then, he separated from her to complete another jump, and she didn't object. Who was she to interfere with the command his feet had given him?

Once the song was over, Ryleigh skated over to the opening and went off the ice and back over to the benches, breathing heavily. She slipped off the skates, and Yuri soon joined her.

"I've gotta tell you, I plan on doing this kind of thing more often," Yuri smiled. "It's almost…relaxing to skate whatever comes to my mind."

Ryleigh smiled back. "This whole thing kind of makes me want to go ice skating more. It's a really good stress-reliever for me. Who knows? Maybe one day, I'll actually be able to complete a jump without bruising my face." She leaned back on the bench. "You know what Nolan said last night? That I deserved first place in my competition."

Yuri leaned back as well, wondering where she was going with this.

"I think that's what got the whole thing started. People kept saying things like, 'You're so talented, you should enter competitions! You'd win for sure!' or 'Ryleigh, you totally deserved first place!' or 'I know this dance school you should audition for. With your talent, you're a shoe-in!' Everyone kept filling my head with the idea that I deserved the best because I was the best. But then I started failing competition after competition and audition after audition. And then I felt like I had to win so that I didn't let all those people down."

"I know what that feels like…" Yuri muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"I come from a really small town, so literally everyone knows me and faithfully follows all my competitions. When I come home, there's such a huge celebration that I feel really guilty if I end up failing."

"Man, that's a lot of pressure."

"It's exactly what you're saying though. Everyone expects more than you can deliver, and you're the one who pays the price for it."

"Right. You know, I've never told anyone any of this. There's something about you that makes you really easy to talk to. Maybe it's just because we're so similar." Ryleigh frowned a little. "I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you at first when you were just trying to help me."

Yuri shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Believe me, I felt the same way after my complete flop at the Grand Prix. And I kinda did the same thing with Viktor. When he came out of the rink, he smiled and asked if I wanted to take a photo with him. And I just walked away."

Ryleigh laughed. "I guess we are pretty similar. Though walking away is better than slamming a door in his face."

She picked up her skates and put them on top of the desk.

"You're heading out soon, aren't you?" she asked.

"Tomorrow, yeah."

Ryleigh nodded a little. "I'm gonna miss your pep talks, Skater Boy."

"You can always text me."

"Yeah, I know, but it's not the same."

The two of them headed out the door to the parking lot. Ryleigh stopped by her parked car and turned to face Yuri.

"I had a really good time tonight," she smiled. "Thanks for bringing me here."

"No problem."

"I'll see you around. Good luck at your next competition. I'll be rooting for you."

"Thanks, same for you."

Yuri started towards his rental car.

"Hey, Skater Boy!"

He turned back around to face Ryleigh.

"I'm really glad I met you."

"Same here…Dancer Girl."


	4. Chapter 4

Viktor and Yuri exited the skating rink to head out to the lobby and greet the fans.

And there were certainly a lot of them.

Ever since Yuri's remarkable comeback, he had steadily gained a huge following. Of course, a lot of that was probably due to Viktor becoming his coach.

Yuri generally hated this part of competitions. He wasn't too big about the crowds or having to converse with a bunch of strangers and take pictures with crazy fangirls.

He had just finished taking several pictures (and most of them had requested that Viktor be in the picture with them) when he heard, "Hey, Skater Boy!"

Yuri would know that name anywhere. "Ryleigh?"

He turned to find the friend he had not seen in just over a year.

"RYLEIGH!" Viktor exclaimed.

He bolted over to her to hug her. What Ryleigh was not prepared for was Viktor tackling her so hard that they both fell over.

She laughed as she rubbed the back of her head. "Warn a girl, will you?"

Viktor laughed with her as he helped her stand up.

Ryleigh then approached Yuri and greeted him with a hug that was much calmer than Viktor's tackle. She could feel jealousy radiating from the multitude of fangirls who wanted to hug him, but that wasn't her problem.

"What are you doing here?" Yuri asked.

"I came to see you compete, of course!"

"But it's pretty out of your way, isn't it?"

"Well, you came to see me, so it's only right I come out to support you. Plus, I've never been to Japan before. Your country's beautiful, by the way."

"Thanks."

"Your performance was amazing. What was that song you skated to?"

" _History Maker_."

"I really liked it. It was perfect for you."

"Thank you."

* * *

 _Ryleigh sat in her seat anxiously waiting for Yuri to skate out and perform. She hadn't told him she was coming to see him since she wanted to surprise him._

 _Finally, Yuri came out onto the ice wearing a black skating uniform different._

 _The song began and Yuri immediately started skating around the entirety of the rink._

Can you hear my heartbeat?

Tired of feeling never enough

I close my eyes and tell myself that my dreams will come true

 _He started off the routine with a double jump that he landed cleanly. She could tell how much he felt the music and took in the lyrics personally._

There'll be no more darkness

When you believe in yourself you are unstoppable

Where your destiny lies, dancing on the blades

You set my heart on fire

 _He skated around the rink before completing a butterfly jump which flowed straight into a Biellmann spin. He then completed a triple jump followed by a double._

Don't stop us now, the moment of truth

We were born to make history

We'll make it happen, we'll turn it around

Yes, we were born to make history

 _Ryleigh watched in amazement as he completed another set of jumps. It was one thing to watch his routines on her computer screen. It was another thing entirely to see him perform in person._

 _She had seen him complete jumps when they had skated for fun together just before he left, but as incredible as that had been, free skating was totally different from a choreographed piece._

Can you hear my heartbeat?

I've got a feeling it's never too late

I close my eyes and see myself how my dreams will come true

There'll be no more darkness

When you believe in yourself you are unstoppable

Where your destiny lies, dancing on the blades

You set my heart on fire

 _Ryleigh's eyes widened. She recognized his movements._

 _She had used them in her dance competition when she had danced to '_ Yuri On Ice' _._

 _If what she felt at seeing that was anything like what he had experienced watching her performance, it was elating and like nothing she had ever felt before. It was amusing that he had gotten inspiration from a performance that had been inspired by one of his performances._

 _Mixed in between everything, she also recognized some of his movements from the time they had danced and skated to_ Roundtable Rival _._

Don't stop us now, the moment of truth

We were born to make history

We'll make it happen, we'll turn it around

Yes, we were born to make history

 _As the end of the song drew near, Yuri started focusing on his presentation more than his jumps. Performers always had to do that since their stamina usually had run out by the end._

 _So she was very shocked when he went for a quadruple jump so late in the song. What was even more astounding was that it was flawless._

 _The crowd burst into thunderous cheers around her._

 _Ryleigh laughed with pure joy. She felt honored to witness his performance that she had helped him create without even knowing it._

 _The song ended and Ryleigh clapped and cheered as loud as she could. She was sure he had no idea that she was sitting in the audience, but that was okay. It would make seeing him afterward that much more enjoyable._

* * *

"Some of those moves were quite familiar to me," Ryleigh smirked. "I'm honored."

Yuri laughed awkwardly. "I didn't think you were going to see it."

"I'm glad I did. Now I know how you felt when you saw me dance. There's nothing like that feeling."

"No. There isn't."

"You were incredible. I've watched your other routines, but this was absolutely amazing. I mean, doing such a difficult move so late in the program? You've got guts!"

Viktor slung his arm around Yuri's shoulders. "I warned him against doing that, but the man would not listen to me. Tell him he should listen to his coach!"

Ryleigh smirked again. "Hey, he nailed it, so maybe you should start encouraging the difficult jumps."

"You are of no help."

The girl laughed and the two boys couldn't help but join in.

"Hey, Ryleigh, where are you staying?" Yuri asked.

"Oh, just some hotel not far from here."

"Well, you know, my family's hot spring is only about an hour away from here. If you'd like, you're welcome to stay there for one night."

"Oh, no, I couldn't impose."

"Nonsense!" Viktor interrupted. "I impose all the time."

"Well…if you're sure…"

"Of course I'm sure," Yuri smiled. "Besides, you can't come to Japan and _not_ try a hot spring."

"All right. Sounds fun."

While Viktor and Yuri finished taking pictures and signing autographs, Ryleigh returned to her hotel to retrieve what she would need for the night.

Then the two boys stopped by the hotel to pick her up and drive out to Hasestu.

Once they arrived, Ryleigh hopped out of the car and slipped her backpack onto her shoulders.

"This place looks pretty cool," she remarked as she surveyed the building. "I would've loved to grow up somewhere like this."

"Thanks," Yuri replied. "Come on inside."

The three of them walked in the front entrance and were immediately greeted by Yuri's mother. She spoke in Japanese with Yuri and Viktor, which made Ryleigh realize that Viktor knew three languages, and then her gaze went over to Ryleigh. She asked her some question in Japanese.

Ryleigh looked embarrassed as she nervously fiddled with her loose hair. "Um, I'm sorry, I don't understand."

Yuri said something to his mother in Japanese.

"Oh, English, then," his mother smiled as she looked back at Ryleigh. "No problem."

"I'm sorry," Ryleigh apologized. "If I attempted to say anything in Japanese, I'd probably end up disrespecting you and the Japanese language as a whole."

Yuri's mother laughed warmly. "Oh, that's okay. So you're the famous Ryleigh. We've all heard a lot about you."

"Really?" Ryleigh smirked at Yuri who had turned away from her. "Your son was a really big help to me when we met a year ago. And he's incredibly talented. You must be very proud."

"We are. My name is Hiroko. It's very nice to finally meet you."

"And you as well."

"Are you here to try our hot spring?"

"Well, Yuri invited me out here saying I couldn't leave Japan without trying one."

"Wonderful! For Yuri's friend, it's free of charge!"

"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly accept that. Please, let me pay a little something."

"Nope, this one's on the house. It's the least we can do for someone who helped him out with his skating."

"I really didn't do much."

"Of course you did. We've all seen improvement ever since he met you."

"I'm honored, but I really can't take the credit. Viktor's the one who coaches him."

"That doesn't mean you haven't done anything. Please, enjoy our hot spring. Yuri will show you to the room you can stay in for the night and then give you the instructions to using our spring."

"Thank you so much."

After Ryleigh dropped her belongings in one of the open rooms, Yuri led her back to the entrance of the hot spring.

"This one's for girls," he explained. "I'm pretty sure it's empty right now. You're going to go in the changing room and grab a towel to cover yourself. It's important that the towel doesn't go in the water. Most people keep it on top of their heads. You don't have any tattoos, right?"

"Are you kidding? My dance instructor would kill me."

"Just double-checking. Some people get dizzy the first time or if they spend too long inside the spring, so just be careful, especially if you're in there by yourself. Once you're finished, you can put on one of the robes inside the changing room. If you have any other questions, there are instructions posted inside in English, so you should be fine."

"Okay, thanks, Skater Boy."

"Yeah, no problem."

Ryleigh went inside the changing room and tied her hair up into a loose bun before stripping off her clothes. Then she placed a towel around her and entered the spring.

Like Yuri had said, she was alone. She eased herself into the warm water, carefully making sure not to let the towel get wet.

Then she closed her eyes and leaned back to allow her body to soak up the warmth. It was a wonderful experience, especially on her aching dancer muscles, her feet especially.

She lost track of how long she spent inside the spring, but once she started feeling a little overheated, she made her way back to the changing room.

She picked out one of the robes and headed back to the main room after dropping her clothes off inside the bedroom. Then she took her long hair out of the bun and let it fall back around her shoulders.

"Hey, how'd you like it?" Yuri asked when she came out.

"Oh, it was amazing," Ryleigh replied as she took a seat next to him. "I wish we had these places in America. I mean, we have hot springs, but from what I hear, they're nothing like this. Where's Viktor?"

"We went into the spring, but he wanted to stay in for a little longer. Did you want something to eat?"

"I am a little hungry. Do you have anything good?"

"My favorite is the pork cutlet bowl, but I'm sure Katerina's already told you that."

Ryleigh laughed. "She has. But I'd love to try it."

"Okay, great, I think Mom just finished making a bowl."

Yuri went back to the kitchen and brought out a steaming bowl of the famous dish.

"People normally eat with chopsticks, but I think we have a fork if you want it."

"No, it's okay. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?"

She clumsily fumbled with the chopsticks before getting them into a position where she could at least grab her food and get it to her mouth without dropping it.

Her eyes widened when she took a bite. "Wow, this is incredible. I normally don't go for foreign food, but I really, really like this."

"It's our specialty."

Ryleigh finished off the rest of the bowl before setting it back on the table. "You know, I've actually been following your progress ever since you left America."

"Really?" Yuri asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I'd always wanted to see one of your competitions in person, and when I found out you'd be here, I decided to come out for this one."

"You didn't have to come all this way."

"Well, it's actually not as far as you think."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm actually…living in France now."

"You are?"

"Yeah. I, um, I got accepted to one of their prestigious dance schools, so I relocated up there after graduating from college."

"That's amazing! I'm so happy for you!"

"Honestly, I wouldn't be there if it wasn't for you."

"You had it in you the whole time."

"Yeah, you did too, but you needed Viktor to give you a push, and I needed you to give me one. After you left, I started working on getting out of my head and focusing a lot more on my dancing, not trying to be the best at everything. It took a lot of time and hard work, but eventually, all of my instructors started noticing a huge difference, and before I knew it, people were reaching out to me to come join their school. I auditioned for a few in Paris, and one of them accepted me."

"That's so awesome, Ryleigh."

"I'm glad you reached out to me last year. Thank you for helping me…Yuri."

Yuri laughed lightly. "I believe that is the first time you've ever called me by my name."

Ryleigh smiled broadly.

One year ago, she never would've guessed she'd be visiting two famous figure skaters in Japan while attending a dance school in Paris.

If it hadn't been for Yuri, she might've even quit dancing because things had gone so poorly for her.

But thanks to him, her passion for dancing had reignited and she now did what she loved for a living.

Because passion truly was a beautiful thing.


End file.
